Mexican authorities finally extradited one of the most wanted drug lords in the United States, signaling that the Latin American neighbor is more willing to cooperate with the White House’s demands.
Acquiescing to mounting pressure from the Trump administration, the Mexican government handed 29 drug bosses over to American law enforcement, the Department of Justice confirmed Thursday. Among the individuals extradited was Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug kingpin long wanted by the U.S. for his alleged role in the 1985 kidnapping and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
“As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a press release. “We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels.”
“We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people,” Bondi continued.
Those extradited to the U.S. included leaders of the most ruthless drug cartels operating in Mexico, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana and the Gulf Cartel, according to the DOJ. The gangbangers face charges in the U.S. involving murder, drug trafficking, money laundering and a slate of other crimes.
Caro Quintero, the former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, was convicted in 1985 for the kidnapping and killing of Camarena. The DEA agent’s murder sparked a low point in Mexican-American government relations, with then-President Ronald Reagan executing a sweeping border lockdown in response.
A Mexican court overturned Caro Quintero’s 40-year sentence in 2013, allowing the career criminal to walk free. The Mexican federal government issued a warrant for his arrest, but he was able to remain on the run until his apprehension by an elite unit of the Mexican Navy in July 2022.
The DEA celebrated Caro Quintero’s extradition in a public statement, a victory that ends the drug kingpin’s 40-year reign on the agency’s most wanted fugitives list.
“This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz. “It is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable.”
“No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, justice will find you,” Maltz continued.
The 29 extradited to the U.S. have been allegedly responsible for the importation of “massive” quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine — marking a monumental victory in the Trump administration’s efforts to force Mexico to more adamantly crack down on the illicit drug trade.
Many of the individuals carried years-long extradition requests from the U.S., but they were never honored during the Biden administration, according to the DOJ. Cooperation from Mexico City began to change after President Donald Trump issued a day-one executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), with the State Department in February officially designating several major Mexican drug cartels as FTOs.
“Many of the defendants were subject to longstanding U.S. extradition requests that were not honored during the prior Administration, but that the Mexican government elected to transfer to the current U.S. government in response to the Justice Department’s efforts pursuant to President Trump’s directive in Executive Order 14157, entitled Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, to pursue total elimination of these Cartels,” the press release says.
The DOJ added that the drug kingpins may additionally face terrorism and violence charges, pursuant to Trump’s executive order.
Trump successfully coerced the Mexican government earlier in February to deploy 10,000 National Guard soldiers to the U.S. southern border to help mitigate the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs. President Claudia Sheinbaum made the commitment in the face of sweeping tariff threats lodged by the White House.
Since that deployment, Mexican authorities have racked up a number of major drug busts against the cartels, including the seizure of nearly $40 million worth of methamphetamine in the state of Sinaloa, the heartland of the ruthless Sinaloa Cartel. The Central Intelligence Agency is also reportedly operating a covert drone operation over Mexican territory that is helping to dismantle fentanyl laboratories.
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